


A Second Promise

by BanhTM



Category: One Piece
Genre: Black Cat Pirates, Friendship, Gen, Promises
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-01-08 08:50:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21233078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BanhTM/pseuds/BanhTM
Summary: After a freak thunderstorm destroyed his ship, Kuro wakes to see a familiar face. But why would she, out of all people, save him in the first place?





	1. Awakening

The first sign that something had gone horribly wrong is the scream. The scream that pushes aside the rumbling thunder, shoving aside the distorted cacophony of nature just so it can be heard. It's a horrible sound that twists his stomach into quivering knots.

The Captain inhales sharply through his teeth and rushes from his quarters. A sleet of rain greets his face. He keeps a hand above his fog-rimmed glasses to see the lanky, hunched man hopping about the deck as if he'd lost his damn head.

"Sham!"

Sham yelps. His face is aghast at the sight of his Boss. "C-Captain Kuro! I-It's not my fault!"

Kuro gnashes his teeth. "No, it very well _is _your fault, whatever it is!" Then he smells something. As the rain comes down in buckets, as lightning slices the skies, there is indeed a smell of something burning.

"I can't put it out!" Buchi is screeching. Kuro jams his palms against his temples to stop his head from splitting. The Nyanban brothers scramble and yell as the mast bursts into flames.

Kuro shoves through a wall of gawking pirate grunts and storms into the scene of the incident. "Enough! Get out! Useless, all of you!" He squints through the disorienting rain. He pushes himself off the floor and slices at the burning mast, joining a quick kick to send the infected piece down to the sea.

"C-Captain…"

"Don't just stand there!" Kuro snaps. His crew stares back with gaping jaws. He points his katana-equipped claws, and they quickly disperse into a jumbled mess.

A bolt of lightning drops down onto the ship. The steering wheel explodes into cinders. The fire wastes no time racing down the wooden planks, and before Kuro can even blink, half of his ship is aglow in crimson.

"Abandon ship!" Buchi screeches. "Abandon ship!" The floor trembles as pirates race to the lifeboats. Some trip, some push over others, and some take the risk of jumping overboard.

Sham is about to jump too, until he stops. "Captain!" he shouts, his voice an ant's whimper in the deafening rain. "What are you doing? You're going to burn yourself!"

_And that idiot is right, for once. _Kuro yanks his hands back from the burning wheel. Flames dance across his glasses, their ghastly glow shrouding his face in shadow.

"Captain!"

Kuro turns. The Nyanban brothers are the last to leave. They're just standing there, staring at him. The lifeboat is just a finger's reach away.

"C-Captain Kuro?" they squeak when Kuro takes a step forward. Then another. Slow, deliberate steps as fire consumes the ship.

Kuro regards them coolly from behind the glint of this glasses. The brothers gasp and press themselves against each other. He sees them inching closer to the lifeboat. Inching further away from him.

And Kuro raises a foot and plants it square in their backs. The brothers scream as they fall overboard, landing hard into the waiting lifeboat below. They're about to react when Kuro leers over them, effectively shutting them up.

"Good riddance." And with those parting words, the security rope snips in two. The turbulent ocean wastes no time dragging the ragtag fleet of boats away from the burning ship.

"CAPTAIN KUROOOO!!" Their voices eventually fade into the foreboding distance, swallowed by the monstrous storm.

_Finally. Some damn peace and quiet. _Kuro turns back to the flaming mast. He's standing on the only square that's not yet consumed by the inferno. He watches his years of toil, blood, and tears burn before his eyes. All his painful dedication and tiring patience finally going up in flames.

_Ah. Does it even matter anymore? _A spear of light flashes in the sky. He merely laughs to himself as the star rains down to earth. _I was aimlessly drifting about anyhow. A compass without direction…_

Kuro never blinks as the beam of lightning splits his ship in two. He doesn't scream as the world is yanked under his feet. He feels air against his back, feels the concrete slamming against his head… then the heavy molasses of darkness rushing into his lungs.

_The legendary Kuro of a Thousand Plans met his end through a freak thunderstorm. _He laughs, and bubbles stream from his nose, blinding his sight. He feels liquid sloshing up his brain. _Better than firing squad I suppose._

Shadowy, shifting hands extend from the murky depths. Kuro calmly accepts their invitation, and soon his world fades to black.

* * *

_But suddenly there's a light. A small flicker of life in a field of nothingness. Then the light squirms, and it begins to grow, growing until it swallows the darkness in a wash of buttery warmth._

_ "…dore…!"_

_ Kuro peeks through the cracks of his fingers. It takes him a minute to realize that the sun is shining overhead in the clear blue skies. A breeze grazes his cheek, carrying with it the scent of sweet grass and honey. _

_ But deep inside the cold, rational part of his mind, he knows that something isn't right. _It's… it's too bright. Too serene… Too peaceful.

_It's as if none of his atrocities have happened in the first place._

_ A heel thumps on the flowery meadow. He keeps his hands above his eyes. The voice calls out again, causing his blood to run cold and reasserting that his worst fears have become reality._

_ "Kla…dore…!" _

_ The sunlight catches in her golden hair. He feels his veins constricting to the point of stopping blood flow altogether. _

_His rational side is screaming. _What are you doing?! RUN! RUN AWAY! _But then another voice worms into his ears, its appeal dark and seductive like delicious poison._

No. Finish what you've started. She's all alone. No one to protect her now…

_And yet, as she calls that name again, a strange sensation tingles within the stony walls of his heart. Something warm and soft tugs on his freezing hands. She pries his shields away, her smile blasting rays of light into his face. _

_ And those eyes, bright and brimming with hope, kindness, and love, trap him in place like a cornered cat. That laugh rings in his ears. She brings his trembling hands to her face, ignorant of the taint of blood and weight of sin etched into those long, scarred fingers. _

_ "Klahadore," she says with all the sincerity in the world. "It's been so long."_

_ Words fail to escape his throat._

_ "Klahadore." His fingers are twitching. Her grip is like an iron clamp. "Look at me. Please."_

_ "No." But he looks anyway and immediately regrets it._

_ "Wake up." Her voice, normally quiet and reserved, is growing louder. Heavier. Angrier. It grates across his raw nerves. She says that name again, and the world slips under his feet._

* * *

And when he dares to open his eyes again, he's greeted by silence. Pure, undiluted silence. A pleasant waft of sunlight touches his faces. Birds are singing in an open window from somewhere, their song pounding against his aching head. He lets out a little groan, causing the blotches of color to bounce across his sight.

"Klahadore?"

Kuro freezes. His vision is woefully incompetent without the aid of his glasses. But just from her voice alone is enough for his memory to draw the association to her face. The golden blur shifts above him, its two amber fuzzes cutting through the haze like searchlights.

"Klahadore!"

He slowly turns his foggy gaze to the light, despite every morsel of reason screaming at him not to. And his lips part on their own to make way for that one forbidden word.

"Kaya."


	2. A Warm Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the three years he'd spent humoring her, Kuro realizes that he doesn't understand Kaya at all.

_"Who are you again?"_

_ No, I can't do that. Playing the amnesiac might work for another story, but not this one. Not when I ruined the damn moment when I said her name._

_ Wait, if I did pretend to lose my memory as a result of that damn storm, then I could pass off as her stupid sycophant of a butler and—_

But his pride won't let him do that. Not after everything he'd sacrificed to come this far.

"Klahadore?"

_That only leaves killing the girl. _He was never the one to repeat a failed plan, but this might be his best course of action right now. _Kill the girl. Steal her inheritance. Vanish from sight._

Another voice flutters into his consciousness. _Have the Straw Hats find you. Again. Then they'll defeat you. Again. _

"Merry, stop! Don't point that gun at him!"

"Miss Kaya, he'll kill you! I'm doing this for your own good!"

"Merry!"

A sharp _clink! _ hits Kuro's ears. _The sound of a gun barrel rotating. _He can almost smell the burning cordite.

"Merry, put that down! That's a command!"

"But Miss Kaya!"

_What the hell is happening? _Kuro is squinting to the point of when his eyeballs threaten to roll back into his skull. He can vaguely make out a large white blob circling around a smaller yellow one.

_But if I do kill her, then where will I dump the body? To the sea? That would mean ending that blasted goat-man as well. But the villagers will notice their absence right away. They'll alert the Navy… and then…_

"Klahadore? Are you all right?"

"That's not his name, Miss Kaya! And look at him! He's looking at us with the intent to kill!"

_So if that plan doesn't work, there's always Plan 87B. And if that fails, Plan 973KL…_

"Don’t be silly, Merry! It's just hard for him to see without these!" Something hard and cold slides into his hands. Kuro immediately snatches what's rightfully his and uses the flat of his palm to put them in place.

_Maybe it's better if I couldn't see. _

Kaya's face bursts into relief. _The clarity is frightening. _Kuro feels his stomach curling inwards. "Klahadore!" She says that without a hint of malice. "Can you see me now?"

Kuro focuses on the glaring crack in his lens. He attempts to look away, only for his chest to burst into pain. Vertigo climbs up his spine, working its way into his pounding brain.

"Klahadore!" Two soft, fragile hands touch his arm. But to him, they're barbed and frigid like ice.

"Don't touch me," Kuro snarls, and she immediately staggers back. Merry shoves the young woman behind him.

"_You_ don't touch her, pirate scum!" Merry flashes the pistol into Kuro's face.

"Merry!" Kaya cries, but the man stills her with a stern look.

"Why, if it isn't the goat-man," Kuro purrs as his head spins. The barrel is pressed against his forehead, but he only returns a serene smile. "I see you still haven't grown your horns."

Merry's jaw slacks. "I-I'm a lamb-man, baah!" His face is scarlet red. "A-And I _do_ have horns! Look! Up here!" He utters an exaggerated gasp. "Ooooh, wait a minute! I guess the problem's with your eyes, not the glasses itself, huh?"

"I can be blind and still see your fear." Kuro's lips curl into a dark smirk. Merry swallows. The pistol begins to tremble ever so slightly.

"Merry!" Kaya pushes aside her sanctuary and marches between the two men. She yanks the pistol away, much to Merry's shock and Kuro's disbelief. "Stop it! I don't want you two to fight!"

"He started it!" Merry jabs an angry finger at Kuro.

"And you took the bait," the pirate finishes with a hum. "As expected from a ball of wool."

"W-Why you—! You cold-blooded cat-burglar!"

"Klahadore, that's enough!" Kuro's smirk falls. Kaya is glaring at him with her lips pursed, her slender shoulders tensed. "Stop making fun of Merry!"

"And what makes you think you can order me around?" Kuro hisses. Kaya chokes back a gasp. "I am not _that _man. _Klahadore _is dead. Murdered. Gone."

"He's just a no-good criminal, I tell you," Merry huffs under his breath. Kaya's about to speak when Kuro holds up a hand.

"The goat-man is right. _Klahadore _is dead because I killed him." The more he speaks, the heavier his head grows. His chest tightens with each word. "And I'm afraid that I'll have to kill you as well, ma'am."

Kaya stumbles back until she hits Merry, who pulls her to safety. Kuro snickers. He swings his feet over the bed, and the world slips out of his grasp. Fortunately, he manages to covertly steady himself against the thick wooden frame.

"Poor, poor little sheep." Kuro glares at his two enemies from behind the rim of his glasses. "To rescue a cat whose claws have not yet been cut. Foolish, really. You never learn, do you?"

Kaya stares back with wide, fearful eyes. _She's grown, _is the first thought that crosses his mind. _In the months since my failure of a plan, I can tell she's matured. She's… stronger now. More sure of herself. More confident. _

_ What a shame. _

"S-Stay back, pirate!" Kuro sighs when he sees the trembling pistol. Merry's knees are locked together. "Y-Your claws are gone! Sunken to the murky depths where they belong!"

Kuro leans forward and sneers. "I don't need my claws to hunt. Us conniving pirates are quite resourceful in that aspect." His fingers twitch to prove his point. Merry is frozen in place. Kuro smirks and shifts his attention to the cowering woman.

"K-Klahadore…" She's grabbing Merry's sleeves until her knuckles turn white.

"That's not my name." Kuro tilts his head, his glasses gleaming in the afternoon light.

"You're a monster." Merry is stuttering now, much to Kuro's amusement.

"Quite observant for a goat, eh?" The fight had left said man a long time ago. Kuro chuckles, revealing glistening white fangs. "And yet, before I send you to see your parents, I have a question."

Silence answers him. Kuro takes that as affirmation and continues.

"Why did you save me?"

Kaya's breath hitches. Her lips part, but it's not from a silent scream.

"It's because you were hurt," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. Kuro exhales through his teeth. When he realizes that she was done, his smirk slips off completely.

"Don't lie to me," he hisses. "You wanted something from me, correct? Did you want to turn me into the Navy? Did you want to learn the truth about your parents? Did you want revenge for what I did to your beloved Usopp?"

Kaya shakes her head. Kuro's face darkens. "Use your words, ma'am. My patience is running thin."

"I-It's the truth, Klahadore." He barely hears that name. The fear behind her words is much more prominent. "I found you collapsed on the beach. You must've washed up after that giant storm." She draws her shoulders tighter. "You were unconscious for three days, Klahadore. I was worried you wouldn't…"

"That's not my name," Kuro growls, but the edge had faded from his voice. The pistol almost slips from Merry's hands.

"She didn't have to rescue you," the lamb-man snaps. "I was perfectly content to leave you there! I was _this _close to kicking you back into the sea!"

"Then why didn't you?" Kuro's tone is harsher than he'd intended it to be.

"Because Miss Kaya wouldn't let me," Merry says flatly. Kuro immediately steps back, yet as to why, reason escapes him. Merry sees this and brandishes the gun. "You, the pirate who failed to kill her. You, the one who pretended to be her family, only to show your true colors without a second's hesitation. _Now_ do you see the hypocrisy behind all this?"

Kuro realizes he'd been retreating backwards until his back hits the wall. Merry straightens with a renewed vigor.

It hurts just to look at Kaya's face.

"Damn it." Kuro glares at the reflections on the recently waxed floor. "Forget it. I'm wasting my time."

"Fine! Leave! We don't want you here!" Merry flashes a crude gesture to Kuro's retreating back—and flinches at the icy daggers that shoot into his heart. Kuro snaps his fangs before he slinks away into the blinding afternoon light.

"Merry, Klahadore—"

"Miss Kaya, stop! You will NOT go after him! I've let you do whatever you've wanted, so now it's your turn to listen to me!"

The door slams. Merry thrusts his fist in that direction. "Good riddance of that bloody pirate! And don't ever come back!"

* * *

The mindless cries of seagulls grate upon his eardrums. Kuro anchors himself against a rock ledge and shakes his head until that damn seawater gushes out his ears.

"Damn that goat-man," Kuro growls. He takes a shaky step. Then another. More until the vertigo dissipates into the saline beach air. He happens to adjust his glasses when he notices the white gauze that embraced his skin: bandages that have been applied with utmost care and attention.

"What does she want from me?" Kuro exhales stiffly and drags himself to the shoreline. _She has to be lying. Why else would she rescue the very man who tried to kill her? And rob her of everything, not necessarily in that order? Honestly, that girl is too naïve for her own good… that spoiled, pampered princess…_

Kuro approaches the waves. But before he can even step into the water, the world tilts dangerously to the side. His knees buckle, and the next thing he knows, he's sitting on his ass in the coarse sand.

"What the hell?" Kuro reaches for the water again. The ground slips under his heels. It's suddenly difficult to breathe, as if he's drowning on dry air. He feels the pungent wash of seawater pushing up his throat.

_Oh no. Oh nononono. _Kuro scrambles to his feet—and flinches at the slightest encroachment of surf. Even with his eyes squeezed shut, he can hear the thunder in the sky. He can feel the coldness of the murky depths gnawing deep into his bones. He can see the burning mast.

_This can't be… _Kuro throws himself into the water. His brain immediately yanks his ankles back, so he falls flat on his face instead. He spits out a wad of sand, pulls himself up, and gropes for his missing glasses.

_Of all the--! I'm not even a damn Devil Fruit user! This is ridiculous! _But there was his body's alarming reaction to water, of the images of the storm intruding his consciousness at the worst possible times; of the tightening in his chest and the stars dancing across his eyes, even though it's still bright outside…

"Damn it all!" Kuro crushes a pebble under his heel until it's nothing but dust. He glares back the shimmering crimson sun to the glistening waves. Remnants of shipwreck bobble here and there, planks and wood with charred edges protruding from the glassy ocean.

_How the hell will I find my claws now? For all I know, they're sitting at the bottom of—_Kuro slaps himself. _No. Stop and calm down. Think. See if there's anything worth salvaging before it's gone forever._

After what seems like hours of him pacing up and down the beach, Kuro finally slams his fists against the rock ledge. A sly surge catches him off-guard. Kuro gnashes his teeth and hurls the biggest rock he can find into the accursed swell.

"That's where I found you, Klahadore."

Kuro stiffens. Out of the corner of his glasses, he catches a ripple of gold.

"What more do you want from me?"

She remains a safe distance behind him. Even without turning, he can envision her face, bright and hopeful, reddened and dry from the humid breeze.

"You can't go near the water."

"Yes, I can," he snaps and whirls around. "You don't know what you're talking about." She sees right through his glasses though. He knows that she was watching him fumble around like a fool. She waited until he finally gave up to approach him with her sickeningly sweet words, words as sweet as delicious poison itself.

"Klahadore." The setting sun envelopes her form in a blaze of glory. The light gathers into a halo around her head. She extends her hands—just her hands and nothing more. "Do you remember that promise you made to me? All those years ago? Right here, at this very spot?"

"No! No, I don't!" _I have to commend her though—as much as she's trembling with fear right now, she still has the courage to look at me in the eye._ "Klahadore is dead, Miss Kaya! That man never existed in the first place!"

Kaya gasps. Kuro wants to punch himself in the face. "You called me 'Miss Kaya,' Klahadore." _Why the hell does she always have to be right?!_

But the cold, calculating part of his brain refuses to back down. "So what of it?" Kuro grunts, but his voice had lost much of its intimidation. "You still shouldn't have gotten your hopes up because of one slip-up." He snaps his fangs, and she flinches. "You and your _Klahadore _spent a lot of time together. That, I know. But it was all a ploy to rob you of all you have. I humored you so the day will come when I could finally _kill _you."

Kaya's chin is quivering. Kuro throws his head back and laughs. It's a coarse, hollow sound. "Didn't I tell you the exact same thing? I, who was once the feared Captain Kuro of a Thousand Plans, bowed and scraped to a spoiled little girl… I catered to her every whim… Can you fathom my humiliation? What little I had left for myself, my pride I had to sacrifice for the sake of my plans, and even _that _blew up in my face?!"

Kuro steps forward. Kaya scampers back. "And now you dare to show mercy to me? Haven't you humiliated me enough?" He gestures to the tranquil beach. "My ship is destroyed, my brainless idiots of a crew in who-knows-where… my only weapon to defend myself now sitting on the bottom of the ocean! Don't mistake me for a pitiful lost cat! I can and _will _kill you without a moment's hesitation!"

His voice carries in the saline air, mingling and dissipating into the cries of the seagulls. The tides crashe against the shore. A slight breeze tugs at hair and clothes.

But Kaya remains strong, much to his horror. "Klahadore!"

"That's not—"

"Kuro, then!" He twitches at the name. Kaya is breathing through her mouth. "Whatever you're called now! I know you don't trust me, but I can't let you stumble around while you're still terribly hurt! You have burns, Kla—Kuro! Don't they hurt? And you slammed your head quite hard when you fell!

"You don't know where your crew is, and you can't even approach the water without jumping back! How can you take care of yourself in your pathetic condition?!"

"That's none of your—" She silences him with a click of the teeth. The last time she looked at him like that was when the full scope of his betrayal was shoved into her face.

"Kuro." He flinches again. "Do you remember my dream? What I want to be in the future?"

_"Yes, I do," _Klahadore says. But Kuro clamps his jaw and glares daggers into the unflinching young woman. 

"I want to be a doctor," she says. "I want to help people. And since you're hurt, I can't leave you alone like that."

"But don't you hate me?" His voice sounds so strange to his ears. _Does a rich, pampered princess even know how to hate?_

Kaya bites her lips. He reads the answer in her eyes, and it relaxes him somewhat…but at the same time, it feels as if a cold hole had opened in his lungs.

"That doesn't matter," she states with finality and steps forward. "I'm practicing to be a doctor. A doctor cares for her patients, treats them with compassion and respect…" The woman is so close now that she can touch him if she so desires.

And she does so by grasping his hand. Alarms flare in Kuro's brain, and for a moment, he sees the darkness of the ocean's depths.

"Klahadore." Her touch is warm. Inviting. Kind. Kaya's soft skin scrapes upon his calluses. "Please come back. I missed you so much."

"You miss Klahadore." It's suddenly very hard to look at her. _Impossible, even._ "I'm Kuro."

"Does it matter?" _How can you be so naïve? Speaking the first thing that comes to your mind… If you keep wearing your heart on your sleeve like that, sooner or later a no-good villain will break it in two. _"Kuro. Klahadore. Both of you made that promise. The least you can do is uphold it."

"There's no such thing as second promises, Miss Kaya." Kuro painfully cranes his neck to look at her. He's never been so glad for the thickness of his glasses.

"You were never the one to stick to the status quo, Kla—Kuro." Kaya squeezes his hand, and she squeezes his heart. "Come back to the mansion. You're shaking too much. Did you know that hypothermia is a silent killer?"

Kuro stares as Kaya tugs his hand. _She's smiling._ _Why? She's wasting her kindness on me. _But his feet move on their own.

And when his brain finally catches up to the present, she's pulling him along a familiar grassy path. The moon peeks shyly from the treetops, bright and white like the angel before him.

"We're almost there, Klahadore." Kaya turns, and her almond eyes crinkle with genuine mirth, overflowing with buttery warmth. Kuro just blinks.

_ What the hell have I gotten myself into? _


	3. Welcome Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry is not happy with the new accommodations.

Merry bounces to the door at the sound of the bell.

"Miss Kaya!" he chirps. "Please don't run away like that! Who knows what good-for-nothing bandits prowl around at night…"

Kaya has a weird smile on her face. "I am not a child anymore, Merry. I have a bodyguard now!"

"Is that so?" Merry dabs his bulbous forehead with a silk napkin. "How wonderful. Who is the valiant soul—"

Then gazes connect. Merry leaps back, a primal instinct drilled into the brain of a prey in the face of a carnivorous predator. His fear goes unnoticed by Kaya, but to the hunter, it's a smell that absolutely titillates the nostrils.

"I am not your bodyguard," Kuro snarls.

Kaya waves a dismissive hand. She flashes a disbelieving Merry a radiant smile, complete with doe-like eyes and a slightly parted mouth. Her pleading face.

"NO!" Merry screeches. "Absolute-baah-ly not!" He fumbles for his pistol; in his panic, it slips from his sweaty palms, spinning to a stop near those ugly, hideous striped boots.

Kuro nonchalantly grinds the gun into dust with his heel. Just like he did with Kaya's gift on that fateful night.

"Merry!" Kaya says with forced geniality. "Klahadore."

"That's not my name."

_ "Klahadore_ will be living with us, Merry. Isn't this great?"

"He's WHAT?!" Merry barks at the same time Kuro roars, "I'll be WHAT?!"

Kaya glares at the men. Dark veins have corded up Kuro's neck while Merry looks as green as the salad he ate yesterday.

"M-Miss Kaya." Manners have been beaten into Merry by his great-great-great grandfather lamb who had served this household for generations. Never in his life would Merry think of disrespecting his mistress… but this is one of those times where it's appropriate to ask, "Are you mad?"

Kaya scowls. "I want tea!"

"You heard her, goat."

"I'm a lamb-man, baah!"

"Klahadore," Kaya barks. The smirk fades from his lips. "Brew some tea, please."

Kuro's steely eyes flash like a set of knives. "You are not my master."

For the briefest of moments, Kaya's determination falters. But she stubbornly stomps her foot down. "T-Then I'll tell Merry your secret! Your biggest weakness! I'll tell him that you're afraid of wa—"

_"You. Wouldn't. Dare."_

Instead of flinching like Merry, Kaya responds with an expression that clearly conveys, _"Try me."_

Kuro stands there, looking very hostile and murderous with his long fingers curled inwards like claws. Kaya opens her mouth. He blurts, "Fine! What do you want?!"

"Tea please! Something that soothes the restless mind."

After Kuro sulks away, Merry finally closes his jaw. "What secret?" he whispers.

"Do you remember where the kitchen is?" Kaya shouts.

"YES!" returns the indignant roar. "YES, I DO!"

"What secret?" Merry wails. It must be very scandalous if she can use it to tame that wild lynx. He absolutely must get some of that tea.

Kaya waltzes over to the dining table. She looks at Merry expectantly. "I wonder if Klahadore needs help?"

"Miss Kaya, what secret—" Then Merry gasps. "Oh no! That _beast_ will destroy my precious tea set!"

The faithful butler sprints as fast as his spindly legs can carry him. Kuro is too transfixed in gauging the boiling kettle to notice Merry's shrill shrieking about his spotless kitchen being tainted by a pair of bloody hands.

"Peppercherry of Brisk Berry?" Kuro murmurs half to himself.

"Dream Fluff," Merry says. "Makes a nice Dream Spice Tea."

"What if it's too spicy for her?"

Merry ponders on that. "You're right… Perhaps she would prefer Oasis Berry tea instead, Kla…"

And both men immediately jolt out of whatever time period they were living in. Merry knows he has mere nanoseconds to run before the lion pounces.

"What's all the ruckus?" Kaya calls from the main room. "I hope no one's causing trouble!"

Kuro gnashes his fangs, creating a sound that resembles nails on chalkboard. He shoots Merry a dirty look—oh if looks can kill—and shuffles back to the eager Kaya, to whom he sets the steaming tea cup onto a petite periwinkle plate.

Kaya pouts. "It's too hot."

"I'll blow for you," Merry offers.

"I want Klahadore to do it."

Every passing second, another vein pops against Kuro's forehead. "I have better things to do than humor a spoiled—"

"Merry, did you know that—"

Kuro blows on her tea. Kaya cradles that cup into her pale, fragile palms, gently passing it under her nostrils. She takes a quiet sip of the translucent, honey-colored liquid.

"Mmm! It's… spicy!" She sighs contently, as if all is right and just with the world. "It's been so long since I had your tea, Klahadore. Merry always makes it too watery…"

The faithful butler clears his throat loudly, effectively shattering the pensive mood that followed her statement. "I will not permit you to make tea for Miss Kaya," he tells Kuro's chin. "If you dare poison her meals—"

"Oh please, I'm not _that _horrid of a low-life." Kuro seems more annoyed than angry. "I am not a sadist who enjoys prolonged suffering. A simple slit along the throat will suffice."

Kaya slams her cup down, starling the two much bigger men. "Merry!" she says in a high-pitch yelp. "Thank you for washing the dishes. Klahadore, I'll show you around the mansion!"

"What?!" Merry shrieks.

Kuro regards the young mistress with something that looks like scornful exasperation. And mild surprise.

Optimistic Kaya takes that as permission to grab his sleeve. "Welcome home again, Klahadore!"

* * *

She moves like a snail… at least in Kuro's eyes. Her silky golden hair refracts in his glasses like a blur in the fovea. Her fingernails had dug into his skin like a metal hook.

He can break free any time though. What's to stop him from snapping her wrist in fourths? That freakish hybrid of a goat and a man?

They're walking down a familiar corridor of billowing gossamer curtains. The walls are suffused with her scent: of milky vanilla and all other pure essences that taint easily. Shadows lurk in the corners where moonlight fails to reach, but darkness retreats as Kaya's presence nears.

"Klahadore?"

Kuro drags his attention back to the radiant moon before him. No, he can't look at her directly. She is much too bright.

"Do you have questions?" she presses. "I know I spoke a lot, but it's been a while since you… were gone."

Merry is whining downstairs. Right now, Kuro would much rather deal with that goat-man than her horrifying naivety.

When he doesn't answer, Kaya gives another delicate smile. She leads him into a room, a place that further agitates his buried memories.

"Ta-daah! It's your room!"

Kaya throws out the window, and the breeze rushes in, tugging at her dress with greedy, phantasmal claws.

Kuro remains motionless in the doorway. Is it his imagination, or is Kaya… taller than before? Back then she barely reached the lamp, but now… Is this really the same girl that stood in his way all those months ago?

Kaya's smile drops. "Are you all right?" There is genuine concern in her voice.

"I don't care if I drown," he grunts to his feet. "But I'm leaving this island before I go insane."

"No!" And she instantly covers her mouth. "I-I mean, I left your room just as you left it. I-I told Merry not to enter it…"

Kuro emits a frustrated exhale. This girl… no, this woman has messed with his head, leaving all sorts of confused signals in his brain. He can't even think straight anymore.

A light touch on his arm. Goosebumps explode from the point of contact. "Get some rest," Kaya says softly. "Tomorrow, we're going shopping. It'll be fun, Kuro, I promise."

With that, the door closes. Kuro drifts to the unlocked and open window. Four storeys. A cat always lands on its feet. Past the woods is the beach. Somewhere in the murky water lies his claws. And his ship. And his useless crew.

Kuro sinks into the bed, neverminding the thin layer of dust that belches into the atmosphere upon impact. It smells like Klahadore. The whole damn room smells like the dead man.

He keeps his glasses on. It's the only thing that's truly his, after all. With a head full of turbulent thoughts, Captain Kuro drifts into an uneasy slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big shoutout to Ya for the awesome comments!


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